The silhouette of new alliance is emerging in the political horizon of Uttar Pradesh post council polls where, on one hand BSP and RlD can join hands while on the other entry of Asaduddin Owaisi in UP politics can create turmoil in Samajwadi Party. Interesting part of the emerging trend is entry of All India Majlis-e-IIttehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in UP. AIMIM chief and lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi has adopted Sanjarpur village in Azamgarh, Mulayam’s lok Sabha constituency, as part of a strategy to woo the Muslims of the state, where the minority community comprises a substantial section of the electorate in 35 of the 80 lok Sabha constituencies and in more than 100 of the 403 Assembly constituencies.
Owaisi’s attempts to hold public meetings in Azamgarh have been thwarted a number of times in the past with the district administration refusing to grant permission citing a threat to law and order. Owaisi told The Pioneer from New Delhi that, how long can the UP government stop his party from holding meetings in AzamgarhIJ “We are a democratic country. We are not ruled by a monarch whose diktats we will have to follow, ” he said.
On the possibility of allying with other parties in the state, the AIMIM chief said it is too early to comment. “The first priority of my party is to convince the people of the state that it represents not just one community but “all the poor and downtrodden masses”, he said
Another emerging trend is thaw in relations between Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD). Both the parties had drawn a blank in the lok Sabha polls but recently tied up for the legislative Council election. Congress has also supported the BSP candidates in the council elections leading to defeat of the BJP candidate.
The BJP had fielded two candidates in the election where as it was in position to win only one seat, BSP too had fielded one candidate extra. BJP had hoped that RlD’s additional votes and independents will ensure its candidates victory. But RlD and Congress help to BSP to piped the BJP to the post.
This alliance-in-the-making could capitalise on the prevailing anti-incumbency mood among the state’s electorate against the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), which is only expected to deepen in the fag end of its term. RlD general secretary and Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Chaudhary told this reporter that Mayawati had sought RlD support for the legislative Council election and the party decided that their MlAs would vote for the BSP candidates.
RlD leaders see a future in combining with BSP in the 2017 elections. “WE are strong among the upper caste and backwards in western UP. If dalits join us we will be an invincible force,” the leader said BSP leaders are tight-lipped over RlD’s overture. Mayawati will take the final call, said a senior leader.